Victory for Vieques!

In a major win for wildlife and public lands, the damaging provision to give away thousands of acres of a national wildlife refuge has been dropped.

In a victory for wildlife and public lands everywhere, Congress has rejected the massive public lands giveaway of thousands of acres of the incredible Vieques National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico. This blatant public lands attack was tucked into must-pass legislation addressing the Puerto Rican financial crisis. Thankfully, after a huge outcry of support for public lands as well as broad and growing opposition to the specific provision, a new version of the bill was released last evening, and the assault on the Vieques refuge lands has been removed!

If it had succeeded, this public lands giveaway would have put endangered sea turtles, incredible bird life and amazing manatees at risk. It would have hurt the local economy. It would also have fueled the fringe groups attempting to move a radical anti-public lands agenda across America.

This victory for Vieques is truly a victory for public lands everywhere. It shows what we can accomplish when we take a stand and make it clear to Congress that the American people love wildlife and our public lands! Let’s keep up the effort as we continue to confront attacks like this on our wildlife refuges, other public lands, and the Endangered Species Act itself. Working together as the voice for wildlife, we can make a real difference.